Book ~ "Into the Dark" (2012) Stacy Green

From Goodreads ~ It's the moments from our past that bind us.

Branch Manager Emilie Davis is having a day like any other – until two masked men storm into WestOne Bank demanding cash. Her hopes of a quick end to her terror are dashed when she realizes one of the men has no interest in the bank’s money. Emilie is his prize and he’s come to claim her.

When hostage negotiator Nathan Madigan and Las Vegas SWAT enter the bank on a rescue mission, Emilie’s captor makes a shocking escape into the abyss that lies beneath the city: the Las Vegas storm drains, a refuge for the downtrodden and the desperate.

How will it end?

Who is the man the media has dubbed the “Taker?” Why is he after Emilie and what is the connection he’s convinced they share?

Emilie can’t run from the Taker and she can’t escape her own past. As her life closes in on her, she has nowhere to turn but to Nathan. The lines of professionalism blur as Nathan becomes determined to save Emilie. Together they venture into the depths beneath Las Vegas and discover a shocking piece of the puzzle.

But the Taker remains one step ahead. Desperate for the threat to emerge from the shadows, Emilie makes a bold move to reclaim her life, and it may cost her everything.

There is an attempted robbery at the bank and Joe, one of the robbers, is the mouthpiece.  Emilie, the bank manager, is kept separate from the others by who will later be dubbed "the Taker".  Nathan is the hostage negotiator.  The Taker eventually escapes into the tunnels that were built under the bank years ago and continues to stalk Emilie.

Emilie doesn't feel safe and she doesn't have a lot of confidence that the police will be able to catch the Taker.  She has not family for support and Nathan are drawn to each other.  Besides Nathan, she doesn't know who to trust.  Are there insiders in the bank?  Will the police find the Taker or will Emilie have to take matters into her own hands and find him herself?

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style.  It was well-paced and interesting ... I wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next.

I liked that there were different elements in the story in addition to the kidnapping including Emilie's lack of relationship with her mother (and why) and Nathan's guilt over the death of his uncle many years ago (and that his dad blamed him) so we get to know more about them.

We know who the kidnapper is from the beginning but it's not 'til the end that it's confirmed why.

I'd like to read others by this author.